Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to the technical field of vehicle auxiliary equipment, and more particularly to an automatic strap retracting mechanism for wheel restraint devices.
Related Art
In the process of shipping vehicles on land or by sea, vehicles need to be secured. A wheel restraint device is a device which secures the tires of a vehicle, so as to prevent the vehicle from moving freely during the transportation. In general, it comprises a shell and a fastening strap. A hook used to hook to the carrier is connected onto the shell. The fastening strap is connected to the reel of the shell and is connected with a hook. The fastening strap is pulled out, then encircles the wheel and hooks to the carrier. Hence, the wheel is held firm and secured through the fastening strap.
One prior art restraint device for transporting vehicles discloses that one end of the fastening strap has an end hook, and the end hook is arranged in the cover of a flexible wedge block. The strap coiling and securing device consists of the strap coiling shell formed by two side plates and a curved plate, a flexible pad installed on the curved plate, and the reel, pawl, strap guiding shaft as well as a underneath retractile hook installed on the two side plates. A ratchet is fixedly connected to the reel. In the retractile hook, the first link, which is hinged at the two side plates, and the second link hinged with a hook are hinge-connected through a strap passing shaft. The other end of the fastening strap, which clings to the strap guiding shaft and is arranged on the strap passing shaft, is fixed onto the reel. After use of the restraint device, it is required to retract the fastening strap which has been pulled out. Namely, it is required to wind in the reel manually to turn the reel and tighten the fastening strap. Not only is the operation complicated, but also the strap retracting speed is very slow.